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Every student of the twentieth century has heard both of the great Viennese economist Friedrich von Hayek and of the equally great philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein. But what isn´t well known is that the two were distant cousins and that, shortly after Wittgenstein´s death in 1951, Hayek set out to write a biography of his cousin. The project was derailed by Wittgenstein family members, who felt it was to soon to publish such a work. But Hayek´s draft acquired an underground readership, and Wittgenstein´s biographers have used it extensively.Here finally, is the text of that work itself. Hayek´s account has the great merit of being close to its subject; the draft, moreover sheds light, not only on Wittgenstein but on Hayek as well. Allan Janik´s elegant afterword makes these links clear. Anyone interested in Wittgenstein or, for that matter, in the thought and culture of the earlier twentieth century, will want to read Christian Erbacher´s excellent edition of Hayek´s draft biography. - Marjorie Perloff

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